


Empty

by OnlyTeenageWasteland



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Batman #50, Bruce doesn't know how to process his emotions, Emotional Hurt, Emotionally Constipated Bruce Wayne, Gen, Loneliness, Mentioned Damian Wayne, Mentioned Jason Todd, Mentioned Tim Drake, Past Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-19 16:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17604959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyTeenageWasteland/pseuds/OnlyTeenageWasteland
Summary: ...Even he knew how everything was meant to end...but he did it anywaysHe did it.





	Empty

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long time ago after reading Batman rebirth #50  
> I didn't like how that issue ended, but I kept thinking how someone as closed as Bruce would process the fact that the person to whom he opened his heart didn't show up at their wedding, and from that came this fanfic. I don't know why I waited so long to post it but here it is
> 
> I'm working on my english so I'm sorry for any misspellings

That morning he woke up from his  bed and felt the cold space on his side. Suddenly, his bed felt much bigger; _the room_ felt much bigger.

He got up, walked to the bathroom and then went to the closet. He opened it and felt that it was also much bigger... And empty.

He dressed and went down the stairs

He sat at the table to eat his breakfast and when he saw the empty chairs, he noticed that he hadn't realized before that the table was so long. 

And therefore there he was, alone at a table that seemed to have no end.

He drank his coffee, he finished his food and put the newspaper away.

The trip from the mansion to work was silent. The butler looked at him and his eyes told him something. It was hard to read but it was there. It was sadness.

He got out of the car and went to the office. And he sat there in his chair, like the king he was supposed to be, for all the people who worked for him. And at some point, while he was working, he stopped and let his mind wander around the place until he  realized that it was almost time to go and... Nobody had noticed his existence.

He turned off his laptop and left early from the office.

He decided to take one of his cars that he had in the building in case of emergencies

He started the car and put some music

He turned around and realized that most probably he have never used this car before. It smelled new and was just...

Empty.

He started driving outside the building and decided to do something different.

He went to a fast food restaurant and ordered the first thing that he saw on the menu

He parked the car and began to eat the food. He didn't like it. He shouldn't eat that kind of food, it wasn't part of his diet. But there he was. Eating junk food in an empty car that was in an empty parking lot in an empty fast food restaurant.

He didn't finish the meal

He started driving again and went home

When he arrived, nobody was inside to receive him.

He saw his son's dog, Titus in the living room. The animal saw the human but quickly fall asleep again. Of course, he wasn't the human the he was expecting

He left and went upstairs to his bedroom to change of clothes. When he finished he walked into the empty corridors and stood in front of his son's bedroom

He knocked on the door but received no response. He then opened it and saw that the room was clean, as if no one lived there and was only there for an exhibition. And that's when he remembered that his youngest son had gone to San Francisco this week to stay with his teammates for an important mission.

He closed the door and kept walking.

Then he stood in front of his third son's bedroom. He opened the door knowing what he expected to see. A room with a bed and some useless cables and computers that once belonged to the person who slept in that room. A person who no longer lived there, that now was living his own life like everyone else

He closed the door and went to a door that he didn't open in a long time. 

The room of his second oldest son. He hesitated a moment before opening it  because he didn't know what he expected to find. When he did, he stopped and tried to process everything he saw. A room that was lost in time. He entered and could see the dust in every corner of the room. The butler always cleaned the place but it is almost impossible to prevent the dust from forming if nobody inhabits the space

He left and walked to the last door.

He opened it and even if it was uninhabited, he could feel how the space regained its life when the door opened. It was his eldest son's room. He could see a room full of posters about the circus and many personal decorations. He entered and saw a frame on a table. He picked it up and saw Batman and Robin, almost flying from the buildings. Robin had a big smile on his face and Batman was younger and... Complete

He placed de picture frame on its place. He went outside and closed the door

He walked through the corridors without any goal in specific. Something inside of him wanted to find something but he knew that the only thing that he would  find was more and more emptiness

At some point he decided to head downstairs into the cave

He saw the clock. It was time.

He changed of clothes again and now was in uniform

He took the batmobile and headed to the city

He parked in some alley and the rest was in an authomatic mode.

Same buildings

Same kind of criminals

Same situations...

He didn't had to speak, he just went and show up and the people would just... Leave.

At this point he didn't even had to fight anymore because everyone knew how everything was meant to end

...Even he knew how everything was meant to end

...but he did it anyways

He did it.

He call it a night and headed to the cave

He stepped out of the car and went to the computers. He took the mask off and started to work. He didn't let himself think of another thing.

Just work and get the job done 

Don't think 

Don't let it in 

Just concentrate 

He kept typing and suddenly stopped.

Everything seemed to stop at that moment too. He took a deep breath and, no matter how much he wanted, he knew he couldn't keep the air inside forever, whether he wanted it or not, he had to let it out at some point.

He stood up and saw his surroundings. A cave full of bats, full of equipments that at the end didn't mean anything anymore

And because it didn't mean anything, it felt empty

And suddenly he felt lost in all that emptiness

He sat down on the floor and from that angle the cave felt bigger. He closed his eyes and suddenly he felt like a small child again, when he fell into this same cave and felt how the darkness and emptiness consumed him

He opened his eyes and looked at a blank space and for a moment he didn't hear anything. Not the bats, not the pond water, just the silence.

Until that same silence was broken

"Meow"

A cat.

His son's cat.

A cat.

A damn cat...

And in that moment he lost control of his breathing. It came in short movements and his eyes began to fill with water. He closed his eyes and tears began to fall from his eyes and involuntary sounds began to come out of his mouth. He hugged himself and wanted to scold himself because he seemed pathetic. Because he didn't remember when he let himself cry like that... Because he didn't remember the last time he even cried.  And he needed to calm down and  bottle up those stupid emotions because he's not supposed to act that way, because even if he is alone somone could see him and he's not suppose to be seen that way.

But he couldn't stop. He tried, but it was out of his control.

And because he was trying to calm down, he didn't realize that someone else entered the cave

And that someone turned out to be two people who sat on each side of him and when he looked at the two intruders, he quickly wanted to dry his tears, calm down and hide. Because he knew that they had never seen him like this, that no one should see that part of him.

"No. Do not hide, it's okay, Alfred called us." Said Dick putting a hand on his shoulder

"We're here, just let it go, it's good for you," Clark said, giving him a warm look of support

And at that moment, without his consent, his body followed the command of the voices and broke down

"I-..." he tried to speak

"Don't. I know you, Bruce. I know that you must feel embarrased right now because you always need to be this unemotional creature, but we both know that under that mask, you're just a man. You can't do this to yourself anymore. You know what happens when you lose someone, you let it build up until it drives you insane. And I know that this time no one is dead, but still, this is something that hurts and you can't let this inside forever. I don't want you to go through this all over again. That is enough, and deep down I know that you know too... That this is enough"

At this point he didn't bother to stop anymore. Any pride that he had left was already gone a long time ago anyways...

...When she did what she did to him

The young man that came to him as a son and then became one of his best friends and almost his best man, took him and embraced him and let him cry on his shoulder

And then he remembered that same question that he kept asking himself

'Can I be happy?'

And he almost laughed because of the irony of the situation

Because he didn't realize that he was already happy

He have family

but because that family is not always there

...He had Her.

And now that she left

Everything became empty

And sad

He was unhappy now.

Not before.

Now.

Suddenly he felt a strong hand on his shoulder

His best man

His best friend

Clark keep looking at him with warm eyes and a sad smile. And he would never admit it but he kind of feel safe with those eyes.

At this point, he was not sure what happiness means and feels like anymore, but while he was there on the floor, vulnerable and broken, there was one thing he had come to realize

He knows loneliness.

And right now...

At least the only thing that he could be certain about was that he didn't feel alone anymore.

 


End file.
